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Tag 2018 Wimbledon

Sport

Djokovic beats Anderson to win fourth Wimbledon title

Wimbledon

London, July 15, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Novak Djokovic beat South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson 6-2 6-2 7-6(3) to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title for the fourth time on Sunday.

The Serbian won his 13th Grand Slam title, ending a 25-month barren run at the majors.

After the monumental drama provided by both men’s semi-finals, the two longest in Wimbledon history, the showpiece proved something of an anti-climax as Djokovic ended a two-year Grand Slam title drought.

Anderson, bidding to become the first South African to win the men’s title, had spent 21 hours on court to reach his first Wimbledon final.

His tank obviously appeared to be empty in the opening two sets as a clinical Djokovic dominated.

Djokovic, who had been required to finish his epic semi-final with Rafael Nadal on Saturday, lost some intensity at times in the third set.

He saved five set points as Anderson hinted at an improbable comeback.

But the Serb forged ahead in the tiebreak and could celebrate a 13th Grand Slam title when Anderson netted a return.

Djokovic had suffered a dip in form and fitness in the past two years and was seeded only 12th for the championships.

However, he made only 13 unforced errors in the final as he offered more evidence that he is back to his best.

“It feels amazing because for the first time in my life I have someone screaming ‘Daddy Daddy’,” Djokovic said on court as he cradled the trophy with son Stefan.

“This was my first Grand Slam final for a couple of years and there is no better place to make a comeback.

“Congratulations to Kevin, he has had an incredible run.” (Reuters/NAN)
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(Editing by Peter Ejiofor)

Sport

Super-Mom Serena into 10th Wimbledon final

Final

London, July 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Serena Williams demonstrated that having a baby had not robbed her of any of her phenomenal tennis skills when she became the first mother in 38 years to reach the Wimbledon final.

She demolished Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-2 6-4 on Thursday.

Goerges had come into her first Grand Slam semi-final having belted more winners (199), more aces (44) and more unreturned serves (113) than anyone else in the women’s draw.

But those statistics counted for little when she came up against an opponent who is in hot pursuit of a record-equalling 24th major.

Remarkably, the 36-year-old was back in a Grand Slam final just 10 months after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel because I literally didn’t think I’d do this well in my fourth tournament back in 16 months,” said the American.

Serena won the 2017 Australian Open while in the early stages of her pregnancy.

“When I don’t have anything to lose, I can just play so free and that’s what I’m doing.

“This is not inevitable for me, I had a really tough delivery and multiple surgeries and almost didn’t make it to be honest.

“I couldn’t even walk to my mailbox, so it’s definitely not normal for me to be in a Wimbledon final.

“I’m enjoying every moment.”

That enjoyment was clear to see as she dashed Goerges’s hopes of setting up an all-German final with Angelique Kerber in 70 unforgiving minutes.

The 13th seed had never taken a set off Williams in three previous meetings and unfortunately for her, the American was once again at her dominant best on Thursday.

In each set Goerges was broken in the sixth game and she simply did not have the firepower or belief to stop the seven-time champion from surging to a 20th successive win.

Williams was back giving the crowd a one-arm raised victory twirl after reaching a 10th Wimbledon final when her opponent swiped a lob behind the baseline.

At 181st in the world, Williams is the lowest ranked player to reach the women’s final.

However, that number will fool no one, and especially not Kerber who was runner-up to the American in the 2016 final. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/YAZ

Sport

Wimbledon: Kerber reaches final as Ostapenko self-destructs

Final

London, July 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Germany’s Angelique Kerber proved too solid for error-strewn Latvian Jelena Ostapenko as she reached her second Wimbledon final with a 6-3 6-3 victory on Thursday.

The 30-year-old was gifted point after point as Ostapenko’s aggressive game backfired in a blaze of unforced errors.

A tight tussle looked in store at 3-3 in the first set but when Ostapenko fired a forehand long to drop serve the match quickly ran away from her.

She double-faulted on set point and Kerber, who served well and defended superbly when required to fend off Ostapenko’s sporadic attacks, accelerated into a 5-1 lead.

Ostapenko suddenly began to land some big blows, clawing back a couple of games and had a point to narrow the deficit to a single game as Kerber showed late nerves.

But Kerber nipped the recovery in the bud and booked a Saturday date back on Centre Court when Ostapenko rammed a forehand wide.

She will face either seven-time champion Serena Williams or fellow German Julia Georges in the final. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Editing by Peter Ejiofor)

Sport

Federer downs Mannarino to stay in hunt for ninth Wimbledon title

Victory

London, July 9, 2018 (Reuters/NAN)  Champion Roger Federer’s pursuit of a record ninth Wimbledon title gathered momentum on Monday as he reached the quarter-finals with a 6-0 7-5 6-4 win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Federer was in blinding form during the first set, which blazed by in 16 minutes.

But after the Swiss missed four break points in the opening game of the second set, Mannarino made more of a match of it.

The world number 26 became the first man to reach break points against the 36-year-old at the All England Club this year.

However, he failed to convert any of them as Federer made it to at least the last eight of the grasscourt major for the 16th time.

He will next play either another Frenchman, Gael Monfils, or South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

Tennis: Nadal passes tricky test against Kukushkin

Wimbledon

London, July 5, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The scoreboard said 6-4 6-3 6-4 to Rafael Nadal, but it was an uneasy two-and-a-half hours for the Spaniard as he laboured past Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin into the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.

Twice champion Nadal, 32, never quite got to grips with the unorthodox Kazakh’s low, skidding shots and faced 13 break points in an entertaining Centre Court contest.

Had Kukushkin converted a few more of them it could have got really complicated for Nadal, who is still finding his grass court game after claiming an 11th French Open title.

The mere mention of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Dustin Brown is enough to make Nadal’s face crease into a frown.

All of them have knocked him out at the All England Club since he won the 2010 title —

He also got a fright from Kukushkin when he dropped the opening set at Wimbledon in 2014.

So there was clear relief in his voice as he stopped for a BBC TV interview on his way back to the locker room; after a second successive straight-sets win.

“It was very tough because he played very well and his shots stay very low so it was a good test,” Nadal said.

“I am happy to go through, I think I played better than the first day. The most important thing is you can’t save your body at majors, you have to give your best.”

Nadal took 10 minutes to hold his opening service game.

However, when he broke quickly in the next game and held to love for a 3-0 lead, it seemed Kukushkin had already shot his bolt.

Nadal wasted one set point with a poor slice into the net, but got his nose in front when Kukushkin netted a simple-looking forehand.

An early break in the second set helped Nadal move into a two-set lead, but he could not shake off the world number 77.

Nadal was given his second time warning of the match by umpire Carlos Bernardes when he took forever to get himself organised on his courtside chair for the start of the third set.

Nadal had to fight off more break points, but Kukushkin finally broke for a 3-1 lead as Nadal hooked a forehand wide after being taken out of his comfort zone.

It was something Kukushkin did well throughout the match.

The response was emphatic though and Nadal broke back and then pounced again for a 5-4 lead.

Serving for victory he made a complete hash of a simple volley, but minutes later finished the job when a Kukushkin forehand slapped the tape.

Second seed Nadal is in to the third round for the eighth time where he will face Australian teenager Alex De Minaur. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Okara

Sport

Better day for seeds after two days of shocks at Wimbledon

Wimbledon Open

London, July 4, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) After an opening two days in which seeds perished in the hot Wimbledon sunshine there was some respite on Wednesday as several favoured players eased into the third round.

An unprecedented 11 men’s seeds and 10 on the women’s side, including four of the top eight, failed to make it past the first round at the All England Club.

With the number of seeds set to drop from 32 back to 16 at Grand Slams from next year the rate of attrition will slow.

American Madison Keys, the 10th seed, made sure she was not amongst the casualties when she beat Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-4 6-3 on Wednesday.

There were also wins for ninth seed Venus Williams and number seven Karolina Pliskova.

While the loss of former champions Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova on Tuesday surprised many, Keys said it just proved the high level of the field.

“I think it just shows the depth of women’s tennis right now,” the 23-year-old told Reuters.

“I think at the beginning of a tournament, you’d never know who’s going to win. There are no 100 per cent winners anymore. I think every single match is competitive.”

While 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams remains the benchmark for women’s tennis, the scramble to take advantage of her maternity leave backed up the Keys argument.

After the 36-year-old American won the 2017 Australian Open, five different players won the next five women’s majors.

“There’s just an abundance of talent but it’s very unpredictable at the top,” three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert said on the eve of Wimbledon where she is working as a summariser for broadcaster ESPN.

“There’s 10 women that can win a Grand Slam. It’s unpredictable. It’s still wonderful to watch.”

Women’s world number one Simona Halep, who moved easily into round two, said seeds were even more vulnerable at Wimbledon where players often arrive with little grasscourt practice.

“Here on grass, you don’t know what to expect,” the Romanian said. “Some players can play best tennis. The top players can play a little bit less. You never know.”

The men’s draw has already lost sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov, 10th seed David Goffin and number seven Dominic Thiem, the latter because of an injury during his match.

French 17th seed Lucas Pouille was cast aside on Wednesday by Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, ranked 152 places below him.

American Sam Querrey, seeded 11, and Canada’s Milos Raonic, the 13th seed, both rolled through to the third round though. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

Federer delivers shot-making masterclass to reach round three

Wimbledon Open

London, July 4, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Roger Federer was back making a style statement with his dazzling tennis as he gave Lukas Lacko a 6-4 6-4 6-1 dressing down to reach the third round on Wednesday.

It came two days after the top seed created a stir at Wimbledon with his new mega-bucks clothing deal.

The Swiss champion was at his breath-taking best as he crafted 48 exquisite winners during a 90-minute match.

In fact, it seemed more an exhibition of his shot-making than a charge towards a record ninth Wimbledon title.

When Federer turned up to defend his crown in 2013, he suffered a shock second-round humbling by Sergiy Stakhovsky.

There was no danger of a repeat performance against Slovakia’s Lacko, however, and a forehand swish on match point gave the top seed a 26th consecutive set at the grasscourt major.

Federer will face either Croatian Ivo Karlovic or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the fourth round. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

Agassi open to return to ‘high pressure’ coaching role

Tennis

London, July 4, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Eight-times grand slam champion Andre Agassi is open to a return to coaching despite the challenges he faced in the role while guiding Serbia’s Novak Djokovic last year.

Agassi took on his first coaching role last May, when he joined Djokovic’s team as head coach, but the duo split in March as the 12-time grand slam winner struggled to recover after undergoing elbow surgery.

The American former world number one, who retired in 2006, said his first steps into coaching were “challenging, interesting and educational”.

“When I played I never felt pressure but a lot of stress.

“As a coach I never felt stress but a lot of pressure so that was an interesting difference,” Agassi told Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper.

“As a coach you have to make sure you’re saying the right thing at the right time or not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time – there was a lot of pressure to it.”

The 48-year-old did not rule out working with Djokovic again despite the Serb reuniting with his long-time coach Marian Vajda.

“If there are ways that I could help him (Novak Djokovic), he’d have to let me know,” Agassi added.

Agassi, a Wimbledon champion in 1992, expressed his willingness to coach anyone who needed it but was unsure about Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios.

“Would I help someone if I could help someone? Of course I would,” Agassi said.

“What I think of him (Kyrgios) and his ability and upsides are different to saying you could work with him. You don’t know if somebody wants to be worked with.” (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

Third seed Cilic makes solid Wimbledon start

Third seed Cilic makes solid Wimbledon start
Tennis
London, July 2, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Last year’s runner-up Marin Cilic made a solid start to the Wimbledon championships with a clinical 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka on Monday.
Croatian Cilic, who lost last year’s final to Roger Federer, underlined his credentials for another Grand Slam title bid to add to his U.S. Open triumph in 2014.
The lanky 29-year-old third seed served 21 aces and made four service breaks in a match lasting one hour and 45 minutes on Court Two.
His young opponent, Nishioka, was just coming back from major knee surgery.
Cilic’s preparations were boosted eight days ago when he beat Novak Djokovic in the final to lift the Queen’s Club trophy, his 18th ATP Tour title. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Salif Atojoko
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